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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25389262">Shadows Wreathed in Light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erberor/pseuds/Erberor'>Erberor</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dark Souls (Video Games), Dark Souls I</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Inspired by Dark Souls (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:13:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25389262</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erberor/pseuds/Erberor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The one they call chosen stands at the end of it all. A man who has slain gods, demons and dragons alike. A man with a choice to make. Light or dark. Fire... or emptiness.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Shadows Wreathed in Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The following piece is based entirely on the events and lore of Dark Souls 1, with no heed given to subsequent entries in the series, along with the cut content with Oscar of Astora, which is used entirely as a framing device. It is not meant to be an all encompassing or really even accurate depiction of the lore, but rather of my interpretation of it, specifically regarding the story's two endings.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kiran stands over the broken husk of what was once called a god. He says nothing, only watches as the last cinders fade, and the body slowly crumbles to ash. When all that is left of the lord of sunlight is a pile of the same grey dust that fills the room, Kiran turns to the glowing flame in the center of the room. The final bonfire.<br/><br/>“I have waited for thee.” A familiar voice calls out from behind, only it is hung heavy with spite, “foolish slave of the gods.”<br/><br/>“Oscar,” Kiran says calmly. He does not turn around to face the knight behind him, but his grip tightens around the heavy blade resting on his shoulder.</p><p>“I will kill you, and become the true-” Oscar is interrupted by a firebomb crashing into his chest. “What the-” Oscar raises his shield just in time to block the colossal overhand swing of Kiran’s Zweihander, but the force of the blow sends him reeling.<br/><br/>“Too occupied with your dramatics to notice a bomb coming right at you.” Kiran says, still as calm as he was a moment before.</p><p>Oscar rushes forward with a swing of his own, but the old undead in front of him blocks, not with a shield, or even his blade, but with his own hand. Oscar’s broadsword cuts through Kiran’s heavy gauntlet, and blood begins to seep out of the wound, but before Oscar can strike again, Kiran’s bloody hand closes around the blade, and wrests it from Oscar’s grasp with impossible strength.</p><p>“So you found that dark serpent far below.” Kiran tosses both Oscar’s sword and his own into the ash, before ramming the knight against a pillar. He pins him there with one arm, very deliberately taking a swig of estus with the other. “What did it tell you?”</p><p>“Kaathe revealed the lies of the gods!” Oscar strains to speak as he struggles against Kiran’s inhuman might. “He has made me the Dark Lord, to usher in-”<br/><br/>“A dark age of humanity.” Kiran finishes, before bringing his other hand to completely immobilize Oscar. “And you were fool enough to believe that <em> thing</em>.”</p><p>“You speak to me of foolishness? Thine eyes are blind to the truth! The gods have trampled humanity since the dawn of time, and still you are slave to their will!”<br/><br/>“<b>THE GODS ARE DEAD!</b>" Kiran bellows, his voice like a roll of thunder.“ <b>SLAIN BY MY OWN HANDS!</b> What divines may remain are husks of what they once were, even if they were as strong as the stories tell!”<br/><br/>“Then surely you must see that the time has come for humanity to rise and take what is rightfully ours! We must usher in the dark and-”</p><p>“<em>Everything </em> we know comes from the light. From the <em> Flame</em>. Life. Death. Change. Power. <b> <em>Everything</em> </b> <em> . </em> Without it, there is only ash and stagnation. What has your serpent’s gilded tongue promised that can push back eternity? What has it claimed will stave off the endless <b> <em>nothing</em> </b> of the world without Fire?”<br/><br/>Oscar goes quiet. Kiran stares him down and quietly says, “What’s more… what do you know of darkness? What do you know of the abyss?”</p><p>“T-the dark is humanity! It is what we are!”<br/><br/>“In a way… you’re right. That dark is at the heart of all of us. Born of darkness, in a world of flame. What you fail to see is that we need the light more than the gods ever did.” The rage in Kiran’s eyes fades, and he looks out into the dark corners of the Kiln. “I have seen the dark that you praise. I have seen what happens when the Dark Soul rises,” He shudders, “I have seen the monsters we become. Twisted abominations without thought or purpose.” He looks down at a broken pendant hanging from a loop on his belt. “Nightmares beyond imagining.” Kiran’s gaze rises back to Oscar, and the raging fire behind them surges back to life. “That is the Age of Dark you were promised. Do you understand? Without the light, we are not merely nothing, we are <em> monstrosities. </em>”</p><p>“But Kaathe-”<br/><br/>“What reason does that thing have to tell you the truth? It cowers in the darkest corner of the world, hiding from the light that it fears. You call me a slave, and yet you have bought into every twisted lie that serpent told simply because it spoke against the gods.” Kiran takes a hand away, and pulls a tiny black sprite from his bag. It sways gently as it hovers above his palm, gently glowing with a ring of light around the black within. “And now, here we are. You, blinded by resentment, while I seem to be the only who understands that we are far more than darkness," He crushes the humanity sprite in his hand, "We are shadows wreathed in light. Not one but both. We cannot be human without the light any more than we can without the dark. And I will not let you extinguish both.” In one swift motion, Kiran reaches back and draws a spear crackling with electricity, then rams it through Oscar's armor and into his chest, sending a rippling surge of lightning through the knight's body, and a rush of blood out onto the ash.</p><p>Kiran turns back to the coiled sword at the center of the room. He picks up his sword, and strides toward it.<br/><br/>“Wait!” Oscar cries out, “if you-” He coughs weakly, “If you do that, you… you’ll die. For good. S-sacrifice thineself just to… buy time.”</p><p>"I know.” Kiran glances back at Oscar, “Someday the fire will fade again. For that is the way of things. But… if I can buy the world a few centuries, a few decades, even just a few years of Fire, of <em> life </em>… Then I will gladly die a hundred times over.”</p><p>Kiran sits in front of the bonfire. It is warm, not with heat, but with life. It soothes the old warrior’s aches and wounds, just as the other fires did throughout his long journey. He reaches into his pack, and takes out a small shield set with a heavy spike, along with a scrap of cloth emblazoned with a rendition of the sun. He sets them in front of the bonfire, and goes quiet. Minutes pass. Perhaps hours. When Kiran finally speaks, Oscar has long since perished, and the Kiln of the First Flame is as silent as the grave it is. “I will not let the rest of humanity fall the way you did.” </p><p>With that, he reaches forward, and Links the Fire.<br/><br/></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading. This piece was my attempt to take my perspective on the age old issue of linking the fire vs the age of dark and turn it into a little story featuring the character I used in my first playthrough of Dark Souls 1. If you're interested in what I mean by anything or why I think the way I do, please leave a comment and ask. Just bear in mind that I am by no means a lore expert, or even a scholar. I'm just an interested fan who's watched a fair number of lore videos and played the game several times, so it's entirely possible that there's something I've missed in interpreting all this lore.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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